Police: Upset with woman for driving slow, man pretends he's a cop and pulls her over

August 15, 2012|By Manuel Gamiz Jr., Of The Morning Call

A 24-year-old man was charged Tuesday with impersonating an officer during an incident last month in Allentown where he allegedly pulled over a woman for driving too slow, police said.

Luis D. Collazo-Figueroa of Allentown was upset with a woman at the McDonald's parking lot at Tilghman and 15th Street on July 28 and allegedly took a blue emergency light out of his car, placed it on his vehicle and stopped her about two blocks away, Assistant Chief Joseph Hanna said.

Hanna said the incident began when Collazo-Figueroa got upset with the woman for driving too slowly as she attempted to leave the McDonald's parking lot at 7 p.m. on July 28. Collazo-Figueroa yelled at the woman for not driving fast enough and they began arguing, he said.

About two blocks away, Collazo-Figueroa stopped the woman by using the blue emergency light, Hanna said. He was also driving a Ford Crown Victoria, which resembled an older police vehicle, Hanna said.

The woman said Collazo-Figueroa was acting as if he was talking to someone on a walkie-talkie, Hanna said and when she asked him if he was a real police officer, he said, "I work for the police."

The woman told Collazo-Figueroa she was calling the real police and he fled, Hanna said.

Hanna said Collazo-Figueroa was tracked down by using the city's surveillance cameras. He said the cameras showed that the police impersonator was driving a black Ford Crown Victoria and police obtained the license plate of the car.

Det. James Kelshaw interviewed Collazo-Figueroa and he was arrested Tuesday night.

Collazo-Figueroa, of 917 S. 17th St., is being charged with impersonating an officer and driving on a suspended license. He is being charged by summons.